Another MeMe. I have stuff to blog but just no time, no time. I saw this over at Deb's blog (or one very similar?) and then at another couple so I thought I'd chime in. Once I get this loaner laptop functioning as it's supposed to (big IF there), I'll try to gather my thoughts and blog about yesterday - a fun-filled day with family we don't usually spend very much time with (Mom's side). Until then...

A holiday meme…

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Mmm, Egg Nog. Chez Dragonfly stocks Egg Nog consistently from October until they stop selling it (January?). I also love Hot Chocolate but only if it’s my secret recipe, passed down from my grandmother.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Santa always wraps presents unless they’re so big they’d take entire rolls of paper and tape. In that case, he makes brilliant tags.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Both on the tree; colored on the house. Ever since I was a little girl, our trees have always been started with a string or two of white lights and a few colored ones as well. In case you’re wondering, we always had room for so many lights because our smallest tree was 14’ tall. High ceilings. Since leaving home and getting married, my largest tree has only been 7’ and even after sixteen years I still miss those tall trees. I don’t miss climbing up on ladders to decorate or having a million and one ornaments on hand, though.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Always! Except I can’t find it this year… What happened to my mistletoe?!

5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually about a week or so after Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Turkey Mush! You start with a bowl full of dressing, add chopped bits of leftover turkey, a little bit of corn, and then drown it all in gravy. YUM! Whether for Thanksgiving or Christmas, I always buy an enormous turkey to ensure there are enough leftovers for Turkey Mush.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: It’s really difficult to pull out just one memory. They are ALL my favorites. The year I got a hot pink Huffy bike for Christmas rocked just as much as the year Mr. Clean gave me a list of clues in order to locate twenty-five puzzle pieces, which, when put together, formed a map of Scotland with a trip itinerary on it. I could never pick a single favorite.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? What truth about Santa? There’s a truth about Santa? I don’t know because I never really stopped believing.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We actually open a few on Christmas Eve. I never did so until I got married and gained a new tradition from Mr. Clean’s family. Then, because there are so many places to go, we started opening gifts with my Daddy on Christmas Eve also (after first stuffing ourselves silly on crown roast et al… oh my dog, the food my Daddy cooks… My mouth is watering already). So. Now we have two gift-opening occasions on Christmas Eve and then we open Santa gifts (and those to each other within our little family) on Christmas Day before driving over to my Mom’s house for more Christmas Day gift opening with my sisters. It’s a smorgasbord of gift opening. It’s NUTS!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Is there a correct / incorrect way to do so? We have lights, ornaments, and garland. We gave up the tinsel I had as a kid years ago because it’s like a drug for dogs and cats. They can’t not touch it and the results are… we just won’t go there.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Both. I would Love to have it and Dread yet another year of useless hoping and wishing. There is no such thing as snow in this part of Texas; at least not any more. There used to be. I have photographic proof! That was 30 years ago. But even 20 years ago, we still had an occasional bout of snow that came from nowhere. Now? If there’s an ounce of white stuff, it’s called ‘freakish’.

12. Can you ice skate? I can and have but not in sooooo many years.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? That pink Huffy bike comes up once more; I really loved that bike. A Texas Instruments computer. A saddle. A 2-XL that I completely wore out.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Spending time with my family. Sharing the love. Inciting rampant holiday spirit in those around me.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Chocolate!! Peppermint!! You know, all those glorious sparkly-wrapped goodies in my stocking on Christmas Day.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? St. Nikolaus visiting on December 6th. It’s a German tradition passed down through my family. St. Nikolaus is the patron saint of children (and different from Santa Claus). On the night of the 5th, we all stick one of our boots out on the front porch. If you have been good, you’ll find your boot filled with fruit and candy on the 6th. If you’ve not been good, there will be some sticks and coal instead. Historically, St. Nikolaus rode up on a white horse with a book listing all the naughty and nice children. He also had a companion – Knecht Ruprecht. He was sort of a dark figure who carried a sack on his back, supposedly in which to put the naughty children. Sort of a “dark” tradition, historically, but I still love it. What’s not awesome about having a “heads up” prior to Christmas Eve?

17. What tops your tree? An angel. She has a gorgeous ceramic face and her gown is a burgundy and white Delft-type toile pattern.

18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? Definitely the giving. There is nothing more wondrous than seeing someone’s face light up upon opening a gift I’ve given them. That being said, getting a thing or two is really nice too.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? Carol of the Bells – as done by Cast In Bronze (this awesomely cool group who has a metric ton of bells, like church-type bells, which they play in a way that simply defies description. It must be seen to truly appreciate).

20. Candy Canes? Yes, of course!

As always, join in and let me know in the Comments so I can read your answers.